Games Like Arc Raiders: Co-op Sci-Fi Shooters Worth Deploying Into
The best games like Arc Raiders — co-op PvE extraction shooters, sci-fi survival, and the specific thrill of fighting alien machines with friends.
Arc Raiders launched as one of 2025's biggest surprises — Embark Studios' free-to-play cooperative extraction shooter where squads scavenge resources while fighting alien machines called the Arc. It earned a Steam platinum seller spot and drew comparisons to everything from Helldivers to Destiny. The game sits at the intersection of extraction shooter, cooperative PvE, and sci-fi survival in a combination that clicked with millions of players.
Finding games like Arc Raiders means hunting for cooperative shooters where PvE combat is the focus, loot extraction creates tension, and the sci-fi setting provides spectacle.
The cooperative PvE shooters
Helldivers 2 is the most obvious comparison — cooperative PvE with escalating difficulty, team communication, and friendly fire. The games like Helldivers 2 post has more.
Deep Rock Galactic is class-based co-op mining with procedural caves. The games like Deep Rock Galactic post has more.
Warhammer 40K: Darktide is cooperative horde shooter in the 40K universe.
Warframe is free-to-play sci-fi co-op with deep progression. Space ninjas with hundreds of hours of content.
Destiny 2 is looter shooter with cooperative raids and PvP.
The extraction shooter picks
Arc Raiders has extraction mechanics — you bring loot out or lose it. Games with similar stakes:
Escape from Tarkov is the hardcore extraction shooter. Military simulation with punishing loss mechanics.
Hunt: Showdown 1896 is atmospheric extraction with monsters and PvP.
The Forever Winter is co-op extraction in a perpetual warzone. Scavenge between battling factions.
Arena Breakout Infinite is free-to-play Tarkov alternative.
The sci-fi survival picks
No Man's Sky is cooperative space exploration survival. The no mans sky tips post has more.
Starfield is Bethesda's space RPG. The starfield tips post has more.
Remnant II is co-op soulslike shooter with procedural worlds.
Outriders is sci-fi looter shooter with ability-based combat.
The horde shooter picks
Left 4 Dead 2 is the classic cooperative horde shooter.
GTFO is hardcore co-op horror. The games like Lethal Company post covers similar territory.
Warhammer: Vermintide 2 is melee-focused horde clearing.
World War Z: Aftermath is massive zombie horde shooter.
What we make at Choost
Granny's Rampage is single-player bullet heaven — different multiplayer format from Arc Raiders but shared "fight waves of enemies with escalating power." For more co-op content, the games like Helldivers 2, games like Deep Rock Galactic, and games like Lethal Company posts have more.
The shortest version
For closest Arc Raiders experience: Helldivers 2 or The Forever Winter. For extraction stakes: Escape from Tarkov or Hunt: Showdown. For free-to-play sci-fi: Warframe. For co-op mining: Deep Rock Galactic. For soulslike co-op: Remnant II. Arc Raiders carved a niche by combining extraction tension with PvE co-op — the genre is thriving and the options are excellent.